Presentation by Kristen Mosher

Volunteer NH is…

A non-profit organization with a mission to “promote the tradition of volunteerism and ethic of service in New Hampshire.”

Building on that strong volunteer spirit, we support and sponsor national service initiatives, provide training, recognition, and a central site for volunteers and volunteer programs to help them strengthen their communities.

Volunteer NH was

The NH Office of Volunteerism-responsible for promoting volunteerism as a value in the state

NH Commission for National and Community Service-responsible for administering AmeriCorps programs in NH

Governor's Council on Volunteerism- responsible for volunteer events

Merged together in 2001 creating Volunteer NH

Volunteers at Volunteer NH

VNH approach to Volunteerism VNH promotes the tradition of volunteerism and ethic of service in

New Hampshire Volunteer are an integral part of VNH’s ability to effectively meet

its commitment to the community and the people it is dedicated to serve.

As part of the community they are serving in, volunteers help to strengthen a real sense of community at VNH and reiterate what is really important to the organization.

They bring a unique perspective through different approaches, strategies and ideas to reach the community population.

Volunteers provide a direct link to the community and state enabling the organization to more effectively identify and meet the needs of the population served.

They become an integral part of strengthening VNH’s capacity to meet it’s mission and responsibilities.

Volunteers also improve VNH’s visibility in the community, enabling the organization to reach a wider audience with various services and events provided.

Volunteers at Volunteer NH

Definition of a Volunteer NH VolunteerA Volunteer NH volunteer is an individual who,

beyond the responsibilities of paid employment, freely assists VNH in the accomplishment of its mission without expectation or receipt of compensation.

Civic and Community Issues

As a nonprofit VNH addresses civic and community involvement head on by providing support and training to service oriented citizens It is echoed in their mission and everything they do

Work with Citizen Emergency Response Teams (CERT) and the NH VOAD (Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster) truly reflect on the civic and community contributions VNH makes

Volunteer NH is a lesser known support system that really supports the spirit of volunteerism in the state and without the organization volunteerism would likely look quite different within NH

Civic and Community Issues

Volunteer NH work embodies the AmeriCorps and Citizen Corp programs, volunteer opportunities (through a searchable database it shares with the United Ways), recognition and training

Only during events like the Spirit of NH Awards and Governor’s Conference on Volunteerism does VNH’s name really grab ‘name recognition’ and even then the focus is celebrating the volunteers and volunteerism in the state

If any organization symbolizes civic responsibility and the pounding heart of the volunteer dedicated to a life of service it is Volunteer NH, a small non-profit in Concord, NH

My Internship at Volunteer NH

Service Learner Job DescriptionPlan and coordinate state wide service effort and

concluding event with AmeriCorps, AmeriCorps *VISTA and other partners around MLK Day. Also assist with other events and social media efforts sponsored by Volunteer NH.

Supervisor at Volunteer NH-Kara Swedlow

Project and Position Description

Project and Event-Service Effort and Culmination event on MLK Day

Specific ResponsibilitiesContacting partners and setting up meeting with

partnersFacilitate meetings with partners Identify material needs and drop off sitesDecide on donor or (receiving)Creating flyer and/or press release and destinationAttend all meetings related to eventContact keynote speaker Identify location and other details

Personal Project/Event Goals

Have successful MLK and culmination/recognition event

Better understand Volunteer NH as a organization

Improve communication skills Develop and strengthen skills

Social Media

Helping further outreach the social networking sites like

Facebook Twitter

Critical Incident-AmeriCorps Opening Day

Introduction and sneak peek into AmeriCorps programs

Educational workshops that relate directly back to current and past community leadership coursework

Great opportunity to meet people

Critical Incident-Collaboration with City Year on MLK Day Event

One of two key areas of my internship The culmination event The first being the service effort leading up to MLK Day

Communication with contacts at City Year

Critical Incident-Conference Call

A Big Deal for me

Phones = Scary

Phones with many voices = more scary

Preparation of making follow-up calls first step

Next big leap was the conference call itself

Was quite successful but had great support from supervisor

Critical Incident-Service Effort

Really is the core of my internship and reflects most on civic and community issues as a whole

In creating a service effort that will be statewide the needs of the state were thought of

Resulting effort was a food drive